


A Moment With You

by syniaie



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Gen, sibling bonding time, slight angst, whittling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syniaie/pseuds/syniaie
Summary: Reks teaches Vaan something.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	A Moment With You

Every night when Reks came home from training, Vaan was there to ask him what he learned.

Ever since he had enlisted in the Dalmascan army, Reks had to leave his brother alone for hours on end while he attended the boot camp that took place just outside of Rabanastre in the nearby Estersand. Most soldiers, since they had come from Rabanastre itself, had been granted permission to return to their homes in the city either weekly, or, in Reks’ case, since his and his brother’s home rested on the very outskirts, in the slums, daily after their work was done. Most of his day was spent beyond the safe and familiar walls of Rabanastre and instead spent doing drills in the sand and casting magic on weak enemies.

Reks wasn’t worried about Vaan - he had shown ridiculous amounts of independence and became a favorite among the other orphans in the slums, giving him a wide resource network. He was crafty, too, sometimes (most of the time) stealing their meager meals from the colorful stalls of Rabanastre’s market district. Plus, he had Penelo - something like a sister to him, ever since her parents were taken from them all at the beginning of the war after showing generosity to the two boys left orphans after the plague.

Instead, he felt guilty. Reks was Vaan’s only family, but this was  _ important. _ He was working to defeat the Archadian Empire, to protect Dalmasca, to protect the only place they could now call home. Even though what they had here was small, it was precious to both of them, and Reks fully intended on making sure that it would be safe - no matter the cost. Even when the cost was leaving his little brother alone from sunrise to sunset.

No matter how late he came, Vaan was waiting, a bright spot after hours of grueling work. Tonight, after a thankfully short day of training, he found the small boy bouncing on the cot they shared.

“What’d you learn today?” he asked, his eyes so big and curious and filled with awe. Reks could never understand why Vaan looked up to him so much, but he tried his best to be the brother Vaan saw him to be.

Sitting heavily next to him, making the cot jostle and Vaan giggle, Reks smiled. Most days, he’d just make things up so he could actually entertain the child instead of telling him about endless drills. Tonight was a good night. Tonight was different.

“I’ll show you in a little bit. Have you eaten yet?”

Vaan nodded, wiggling in place. “Yeah! You always eat before you come, right?”

Eat was relative. The rations weren’t particularly edible.

“That’s right. Anyone ever tell you that you’re pretty smart?”

“You do, all the time!”

Reks just laughed and pulled his pack off of his back. Setting it on the ground carefully, he delicately opened the flap and peered inside.

With a dejected sigh, he pulled some half-crushed flowers from his pack. Galbana lilies, just two blooms, petals a brilliant red and center a perfect orange. “I found some of these - my favorite, remember? Wanted to surprise you with them since I know it’s been kind of dull around here lately.”

Vaan squealed in excitement as Reks passed the crumpled flowers to him. “They’re so pretty! I like them anyways. Look-”

While Vaan enthralled himself with the crinkled blooms, Reks pulled a short, hefty stick from his bag and a small knife.

“You wanted to hear what I learned today, right?” he asked, catching Vaan’s attention immediately. “How about I just show you instead?”

The lilies were quickly forgotten as Vaan crowded around him, radiating energy. He’d have trouble going to sleep tonight. “Show me! Show me!”

Reks laughed, leaning away from him. “I can’t do it if you’re leaning all over me. Sit back down, okay?”

Vaan obediently sat, hands clasped tightly in his hands in an effort to contain his energy. Reks had to stifle another laugh with the back of his hand.

“Okay, okay. So - look here, you see this?”

Reks held up the small chunk of wood. Vaan stared at it so intently he worried it would burst into flames.

“We’re gonna make this into something. What do you want it to be?”

“A wolf!” Vaan nearly shouted, eyes sparkling. Of course he would pick the wolves that lingered on Rabanastre’s outskirts. “I want it to be a wolf! Are you gonna use magic again?”

Reks shook his head, paying no heed to Vaan’s disappointed whine. He never got tired of seeing the pitifully small amount of spells Reks had memorized. “No, just this.”

He held up the small blade and Vaan studied it intensely for a long moment, squinting skeptically at the plain knife. “That? What do you do with that?”

“That’s what I’m going to show you. Look.”

Vaan leaned forward as Reks put the sharp edge of the knife against one end of the branch piece. Slowly and carefully, with exceeding gentleness, the knife sunk into the wood and slid through it, Reks easing it through the material with a firm grip and being sure to push the knife away from his body. A small piece of bark dropped to the floor as the knife finished its cut.

It was silent for a long moment until Vaan spoke up. “It doesn’t look like a wolf to me.”

Reks laughed, thumb sliding along the newly smoothed section of the branch. “That’s because this is only the start. You’ve got to do this over and over again until you can make it into a wolf shape. It takes a while, but it’s… nice.”

Reks slowly cut another sliver of bark off the wood as Vaan looked over. “That sounds pretty boring to me.”

“You’d be surprised. Sometimes, it’s good to slow down. Not everything in life has to be fast.”

Vaan hummed as two more slivers of bark fell to the dusty floor. “I guess. I mean it does look kinda cool, and I could practice my super awesome knife skills-”

“Just watch a while,” Reks cut in. “It’ll get better, I promise.”

That night, they sat together in the dull orange lamplight as Reks slowly chipped away at the piece of wood, Vaan moving to the floor to watch as he chatted to fill the silence with childish energy that made Reks smile. By the time Vaan finally fell asleep, late into the night, the branch piece had been carefully cut piece by piece into a vaguely quadrupedal shape with the barest outline of a face.

\-------------------------

“What’s that for?” Penelo asked as Vaan picked out a small piece out of the pile of wood stacked for their campfire tonight. Basch and Balthier were already off pitching tents nearby while Ashe and Fran made sure the monsters closest to them had been taken care of.

“Just something I do sometimes,” Vaan replied, sitting heavily and waving away the dust that clouded up from the impact. Drawing his dagger, he carefully set it against the clean cut side of the wood. “Whittling. My brother taught me, a little while ago. It’s just about all I have left.”

“Oh.” Penelo sat beside him, peering over his shoulder as he began to delicately pry slivers from the wood. “What’s that going to be?”

Vaan’s hand stilled for just a second as he thought.

“A wolf.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am baby


End file.
